Weather
An ongoing Andes storm will keep accumulating snow through Thursday in the central mountains and through Friday night into early Saturday in the south-central zone. Confidence is strongest from Wednesday afternoon, May 6 through early Saturday, May 9, when the individual models broadly agree on the storm structure, with the best totals around Corralco, Nevados de Chillan, Portillo, and Valle Nevado. Snow quality will vary, with denser snow in the lower south-central elevations and fairer, occasionally lighter snow on the higher central peaks.
The storm is already underway across several central and south-central areas, so the next phase is a continuation rather than a fresh start. The individual models are converging on central Chile and Portillo picking up most of their additional snow from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday, with snow levels generally around 1,800-2,700 meters early and falling at times. SLRs mostly run from 8-18 in the high central terrain, so snow should be moderate to occasionally light up high, while winds may be gusty enough to affect exposed upper slopes.
Farther south, the models agree that the storm lasts longer around Nevados de Chillan and Corralco, with snow continuing in pulses into Friday night. Snow levels there are lower, often near 1,100-1,800 meters during the event, but SLRs are more often in the 5-13 range, pointing to denser snow at times. The individual models are fairly well aligned on timing and placement, although they still differ on exact intensity, and gusts around 40-70 km/h could make exposed terrain feel raw during stronger periods.
From Saturday onward, confidence drops as the individual models diverge on the next meaningful snow chances. The central Andes look much quieter overall, with only weak, higher-snow-level chances around midweek. The more persistent signal is near Cerro Castor from Sunday into late week, where several solutions keep periodic snow showers and stronger winds in play, but intensity varies widely; a conservative expectation is roughly 15-30 cm over several days rather than one clean storm. That later snow looks denser at times and more wind-affected, so the forecast is less useful for precise totals than for flagging an unsettled far-south pattern.
South America Snow Forecast Resort Totals (Wed May 06 – Sat May 09)
- Corralco – 22-29 cm
- Nevados de Chillan – 18-24 cm
- Portillo – 17-21 cm
- Valle Nevado – 16-20 cm
- El Colorado – 13-16 cm
- La Parva – 12-15 cm
- Las Lenas – 9-11 cm
- Chapelco – 4-6 cm
- Cerro Catedral – 3-5 cm
- Cerro Castor – 0 cm
